Greek protests turn violent

LONDON (AP) — A violent protest against the Greek government’s latest austerity package hit stocks hard Wednesday and sent the euro sliding over a percent against the dollar.

With hundreds of protesters clashing with riot police and tear gas blanketing Athens’ main Syntagma Square, investors are fretful that Greece’s debt crisis is spiraling out of control. Reports that the Socialist government, which is led by George Papandreou, has launched power-sharing talks with the main opposition conservatives has only added to the uncertainty.

“Eurozone ministers continue to debate the details of a multi-billion euro bailout package amid a backdrop of protests, police clashes and a general strike,” said Will Hedden, a sales trader at IG Index.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.8 percent at 5,758 while Germany’s DAX fell 1.1 percent to 7,126. The CAC-40 in France was 1.3 percent lower at 3,816.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.6 percent at 12,007 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell a similar rate to 1,280.

Unsurprisingly, Greek shares took an even bigger battering, closing 1.9 percent lower at 1,243.

The euro was suffering badly, too. The fear is that the austerity measures won’t get passed in Parliament, meaning that the country will struggle to get the next tranche of its current bailout facility, without which it will probably default. They’re also necessary for the country to get a second bailout.